Project Update - 7/15/09

I know it has been a long time since the last update of the project happened. There have been many things that have been going on and that have kept me busy.

First of all our funds is approaching the 1000$ figure mark and I would really like to thank the contributors. It has really been inspiring to know that there are people out there who are willing to help in whatever way they can. The funny part is that once I started the actual costs involved in getting things done, the amount seemed small. But as we all know that no amount is small and many times it’s also the gesture that matters. The local people, the parents, the teachers and also the students themselves are appreciative of this fact.

The school authorities were thrilled to see me again and so were the children. Its these small small thrills that keeps one moving forward. I discussed the project in more detail with them this time. The last time I had visited the schools, it was just in my mind, and all I knew was that I wanted to do something. But this time the things to be done were more concrete.

The funds have to be divided and distributed amongst the schools. But I will not be giving the funds to the schools directly. This has a high rate of misuse of the funds. So I identified the areas where the funds could be utilized. Hence I will be overlooking the spending of the funds myself and assuring that the funds utilization is tracked to the last rupee.

Due to the great effort of the present government in terms of uplifting the education status in the state, there is a lot of funds that are being given to build the necessary infrastructure of the schools. The government also funds the basic books and at times also the dresses and the mid-day meals in some schools. Identifying the areas in which one can invest their time and effort, and at the same time not re-doing things that are already being done by the government is important.
In this identification process and after visiting a few more schools than the initial three schools, I came to this realization that the government has divided its efforts into different categories. They also classify the schools based on the caste system. So there is a huge amount of effort being put in for the schools for the extremely backward sections of the society in this part of the country. They are called the ‘Mahadalits’. The focus of this project will be more towards the upliftment of the education status of the children belonging to this group.

The other realization that happened was that things will move at a slow pace there. It's not worth expecting that things can move as fast as in the US or any other place. Also any action that needs to be taken in the schools, need to be approved by the government officials who are responsible for the area. They are IAS officers of the cadre of Block Development Officer (BDO), Block Education Officer (BEO), Sub Divisional Officer (SDO) etc. Unfortunately I could not meet either of them as they were away on leave. Due to this the actions could not be taken straightaway. Things are delayed a bit, but still moving forward.

In my visit to the areas I again visited the initial three schools. The best part of the visits was that the children immediately recognized me. What was more satisfying was that the children also remembered what I had said to them a year back. One girl in the class mentioned how my last talk had inspired her to bring other people from her community to school. Now she along with a few more is regular at the local school. When you hear such things, one feels to satisfied, and at the same time motivated more.

In another school that I visited, the children asked me to teach for a while, and since I was carrying the camera along with me, I taught (or rather explained) in very simple terms the way the camera works. They asked me what I do with the pictures and I explained how I show it to other like-minded like me who want to contribute in some way towards the betterment of children’s education.

Every day has been filled with new enlightenment and new hope. I am sure it will only increase in the days to come.

God Bless.